April 10, 1950 - Nancy Hodges

Human Rights a Day

Nancy Hodges, B.C. MLA, becomes British Empire’s first legislative woman Speaker.Nancy Hodges was born in London, England in 1888, the ninth of 10 children. After university and work as a journalist, she and her husband Harry Hodges moved to Kamloops, B.C. in 1912, where they edited the Inland Sentinel. A few years later they moved to Victoria to work for the Victoria Times. Here, Nancy Hodge’s writing championed women’s causes and she actively involved herself with the Liberal Party. In 1941 she was elected to the B.C. legislature, one of only five women. Hodges was known as a great debater and passionate about women’s issues. She came out against taking away jobs from single women to make way for WW II vets and called for women to be included in workers’ compensation benefits. When she was appointed Speaker of the legislature on April 10, 1950, she made history as the first woman in the British Commonwealth to hold such a position. Her prominent role came with its drawbacks as Hodges noted she would no longer be able to take part in debates. She said, “I’ll doubtless find it hard to restrain myself at times.” However her strong speaking skills and commanding voice came in handy by keeping the sometimes unruly MLAs in check. Hodges continued to write newspaper columns while in the legislature and she became a welcomed speaker with women throughout North America. Although defeated in the 1953 election, she was soon appointed to the Canadian Senate – the first British Columbia MLA to take a seat in the Red Chamber. Hodges retired from the Senate in 1965 and returned home to Victoria in poor health. She died in 1969.